It was a chilly cold day yesterday in Shanghai but the streets of Shanghai were filled with love.

More than 20,000 volunteers went onto the street to collect donations (money, clothings and properties) from donors in the annual "True Love Under the Blue Sky" charity carnival organized by the Shanghai Charity Foundation. Tens of thousands of people yesterday donated money or property to those less fortunate.

The Shanghai Charity Foundation said donations collected on the street will go to local needy families before the Spring Festival aka Chinese Lunar New Year.

And at night time, as the climax of the Shanghai Charity Foundation's one-day fund-raising campaign "True Love Under the Blue Sky", a charity gala was held in the Concert Hall of the Shanghai Oriental Art Center, attended by important municipal officials and celebrities including Yu Zhengsheng, the Party Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Shanghai Municipal Committee and member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

During the gala, Yao Ming was named the Charity Ambassador of Shanghai, the first ever such title bestowed onto individual.He received the honor from the hand of Feng Guoqin, Vice Mayor of Shanghai, also Chairman of Shanghai Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Chairman for the Shanghai Public Diplomacy Association and Chairman for Shanghai Charity Foundation.

And after Wu Yizheng, a student from Shanghai School for the Blind, performed a song in the charity gala, Yao Ming was invited on to the stage, and interacted with the little blind girl who felt his face with her hand, and Yao Ming passionately lifted and embraced the little girl. Yao Ming then slowly walked the little girl down the stage.

And yesterday (January 8 Sunday) Yao Ming went to tape a special program for Shanghai Oriental TV for the forthcoming Chinese Lunar New Year.

He was asked alot of questions by the Master of Ceremony, mostly about his life after retirement and about his little daughter Amy.

When he was asked about the results of his examination at Shanghai Jiaotong University, Yao Ming quipped examination results do not represent everything, and he refused to disclose his results, but just said mathematics gave him a hard time.

When asked what he wished for the future career for little Amy, Yao Ming said he had also causually discussed that with Ye Li, but both felt that it is too early for such discussion as she is too young. Yao Ming then quipped and rebuked the MC saying that the guy was studying medical school in university, but now had become a famous TV compere. So even as an adult he could not decide for himself his career, how can a 1 and 1/2-year-old determine her career?

[color=darkred]Soon after his appointment as the Vice Chairman and Honorary Ambassador of Shanghai Public Diplomacy Association, a pseudo-governmental unit under the [b]Shanghai Committee of Chinese People